Debates of Feb. 15th, 2017

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, on the issue of the case processing centre in Vegreville, we understand this change will have an impact on staff and their families, but we are working very hard to make sure we minimize those impacts. That is why all full-time employees in the current case processing centre will have their jobs available to them in Edmonton, which is one hour away. We continue to engage the community.

In the new location, not only will we be able to expand our immigration services, we will be able to create more jobs for Alberta.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the minister to come to Vegreville so he can get a sense of what we are talking about. This is not just an impact on these employees. This is an impact on the entire town of Vegreville. It will crash home values. There will be an exodus of students and young people. It will be a devastating blow to the people and the future of this small rural community.

Will he come and visit, face the people of Vegreville, face the mayor, and explain to him why he is attacking rural Canadians?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I met with the local union representative for Vegreville, as well as a staff member, two days ago. I have spoken with the mayor of Vegreville. I understand this change will have an impact on staff and their families. That is why we are committed to going ahead to make sure we help the community with those impacts, minimize those impacts.

I can assure the hon. member that all full-time employees will have their jobs available to them one hour away in Edmonton and the new location will have more immigration processing and more jobs.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the heels of the Prime Minister's visit with Donald Trump, the Liberal government is continuing to deny that American immigration policies have direct impacts on Canada. The Prime Minister refuses to stand up against Trump's Muslim ban.

The immigration minister refuses to repeal the safe third country agreement, and the public safety minister refuses to raise cases of Canadians being turned away at the border with his American counterparts.

Why is the Liberal government turning a blind eye to these obviously discriminatory and hateful U.S. immigration policies?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman is just plainly, flatly wrong.

I have indicated over and over again that we will collect the data about Canadians who feel that in some way they have been mistreated at the American border. That issue will be raised with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, promises, promises. It is not what they say they will do, it is what they did not do on Monday.

On Monday, I visited Yassine Aber, who was turned back at the U.S. border. He is a brilliant young man and also an athlete. He was turned back, but not because he committed a crime or did anything wrong. No, he was turned back because his parents are from Morocco. It is a disgrace to have a Liberal government that refuses to condemn this blatant discrimination.

Why are the Liberals doing nothing to address—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order.

The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, simply repeating a falsehood does not make it any truer.

When Canadians are treated unfairly, or feel they have been treated unfairly, at a border crossing, they have an appeal procedure that is available to them. In addition to that, those cases will be raised by me directly with the Department of Homeland Security. We are in the process of arranging a meeting for that purpose right now.

Ethics

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the document from the U.S. border services said that Yassine Aber did not have a valid Canadian passport. I saw that document. I also saw his passport that is valid until 2026.

The Ethics Commissioner has opened another investigation into the Prime Minister's exclusive vacation. lt is the second time, and unprecedented that our Prime Minister is under investigation.

Will he now admit to breaking two different laws, and will he finally take responsibility for his actions, or is he going to blame it all on some guy named Joe?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, as has been said by the Prime Minister time and time again, the Prime Minister will respond to any questions that the commissioner may have.

This government is focused on working for Canadians, and responding to the very real challenges that Canadians are facing. We will continue to work hard and deliver on our commitments.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the questions that Canadians are asking are about their Prime Minister who has broken the law again.

The Prime Minister promised to usher in a new era of transparency and ethics, but the Prime Minister himself is now under investigation for not one but two separate incidents.

Let us try a different tack to see if we can get the Liberals to stop spouting their talking points.

What would the Liberals have said if Stephen Harper had broken the law not once but twice?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, as it has been said many times, the Prime Minister will answer any questions that the commissioner has. Our government and our Prime Minister are here to work hard for Canadians and address the very real challenges that they are facing. We will continue to work for Canadians.

International Trade

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what do we have to show for the second state visit to Washington in less than a year? Nothing.

Our Prime Minister said that he was prepared to reopen NAFTA before he was even asked to do so. Fortunately, President Trump is talking in terms of mere tweaks. I hope that is how it will play out.

What is actually on the table? The government is going to negotiate. I hope that tears will not play a role in negotiations this time. What did the government put on the table? Did it put the softwood lumber agreement on the table? There has been talk of supply management. What is the truth? What did it put on the table?

[Andrew Leslie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)]

Mr. Speaker, our government had a productive and important meeting with the president on Monday. Let me remind this House that the president assured Canada and the world that we have a very outstanding trade relationship.

As for NAFTA, it is important for us all to take note of the fact that neither Wilbur Ross, the nominee for secretary of commerce, nor the U.S. trade representative have yet to be confirmed; nor has the U.S. formally initiated a NAFTA negotiation process. If and when that happens, Canada will be ready.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Americans are not too shy to talk about what was discussed. Here is what influential House Speaker Paul Ryan said after meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs:

We had a productive conversation about how we can enhance these ties, including by strengthening NATO and improving dairy market access.

Paul Ryan said that. If you are unable to answer, parliamentary secretary, Paul Ryan is doing it. What have you put on the table, please?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would remind the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean to direct his comments to the Chair.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations).

[Andrew Leslie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague pointed out, it is true that our government had a very important and productive meeting with the President on Monday.

Let me remind the House that the President assured Canada that we have a very outstanding trade relationship. As for NAFTA, it is important to note that neither Wilbur Ross, the nominee for secretary of commerce, nor the U.S. trade representative have yet been confirmed. The U.S. has not yet initiated a NAFTA renegotiation process either. If and when that happens—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order.

The hon. member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.

Taxation

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' spending is out of control. The Liberals' plan will lead to only higher deficits and debt. To pay for all of this, the Liberals are planning to raise taxes and user fees for everyone.

They keep claiming to want to help the middle class. If this is their definition of help, they should stop. Canadians just cannot afford it.

Will the finance minister stop wasting Canadians' money, and stop taxing those who can least afford it?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to fight for middle class families, to improve their lot in life today, to make investments that will help them tomorrow.

To be clear, we lowered taxes on middle class Canadians. To be clear, for the 9 out of 10 families that are getting the Canada child benefit, they are getting an average $2,300 more per year.

Every month, they are having a better situation for their families, and we are starting to see that across the country.

We will continue with these efforts on behalf of Canadian families this year and in the years to come.

Education

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have already raised taxes on Canadian families. They have imposed a carbon tax, and they have raised payroll taxes.

The finance minister says that everything is on the table as they negotiate budget 2017.

Today, we call upon the minister to at least commit that he will not attack a family's ability to save for their children's future, their education.

Will the finance minister tell us that he will not touch the registered education savings plan?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, what we can say to Canadians, and what we have said to Canadians, is that we are going to continue to work to improve their situation.

When we reduced taxes on middle class Canadians, we did it knowing they would have more money in their pockets every month. When we gave them more money to raise their children, we knew that would help them with what they really need.

That will be our continuing focus on how we can help families. That will be executed through our next budget, and the budgets to come.

Pensions

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the best way for the Minister of Finance to reassure Canadians would be to come clean with Canadians.

Unfortunately, every time we ask specific questions about tax benefits for Canadians, the minister is always evasive. We have been asking him questions about seniors for at least two and half weeks now, specifically on pension splitting and tax credits for the elderly, and yet the minister can never seem to give us a straight answer.

Will the minister finally reassure Canadian seniors this time?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for caring about our seniors. I have some very clear statistics here that I am happy to share with him.

By dropping the age of eligibility for old age security back to 65, we are keeping 100,000 seniors from living in extreme poverty.

By increasing the guaranteed income supplement by about 10%, we are lifting 13,000 seniors out of poverty. By investing $200 million in housing for seniors, we are improving the living conditions of many seniors' families and of the communities in which they live.

Taxation

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he forgets one thing: it is the grandchildren of those seniors who will have to pay for this government's mismanagement.

When spending is out of control, as it is under this government, there are two solutions for addressing the financial crisis: either we regain control of public spending, or, instead, we take more money out of people's pockets.

Guess what this government is doing. It wants to raise taxes. An internal memo at the Treasury Board says so.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board rise and say that he has no intention of raising taxes for Canadians with new fees?